December 2018
Media Programme South East Europe
ARD Secretary General Dr. Susanne Pfab Visiting Bulgaria
At the invitation of the Media Programme South East Europe of the Konrad- Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), the ARD Secretary General, Dr. Susanne Pfab, held talks on 18 December on the current situation of public service broadcasting in Bulgaria and spoke about the social significance of independent public service broadcasting for the democratic development. Manuela Zlateva
During her visit in Bulgaria Dr. Susanne Pfab met under chronic underfunding, so that many ideas the Chairman of the parliamentary group of the – such as a youth radio or the expansion of digital Bulgarian ruling party GERB Tsvetan Tsvetanov. radio, which is already an international standard They exchanged views on the current challenges – haven’t been implemented,“ he said. and threats to the democratic values and princi- ples in Europe. Topics of the discussion were also Independence of Media Reporting the media situation in Bulgaria and the Russian Should Be Ensured disinformation campaigns in many European countries. Dr. Pfab and Tsvetanov agreed that the Later Dr. Susanne Pfab gave a keynote speech on established media need countermeasures the current challenges for public service broad- against disinformation, by focusing on quality casting in Germany and Europe at an evening journalism and independent reporting. They also reception with partners of the KAS Media Pro- talked about the current political situation in gramme South East Europe, journalists, diplo- Bulgaria and in the EU, especially in regard to the mats and representatives of non-governmental upcoming European elections. organisations,. She recalled that public service broadcasting was founded by the Allies in West After the conversation with Tsvetanov, Pfab met Germany after the terrible experiences of the the Chairperson of the Association of the Euro- Second World War. She underlined that the me- pean Journalists, Irina Nedeva. Both exchanged dia coverage on radio and television should be views on the concrete issues of the media market consciously possible without political and eco- in Bulgaria and the working conditions in the field nomic influences. This understanding has devel- journalism. “Unfortunately, solidarity among oped into a successful model over the past dec- journalists is limited. That is why joint efforts for ades in Germany and nowadays most people better conditions are difficult,” Nedeva said. In trust the public service broadcasters. addition, she explained that the journalism edu- “Independence is our highest asset – our founda- cation, which is primarily organised at the univer- tion. It has been repeatedly reaffirmed and con- sities, is very theoretical and less practical orien- cretised in many verdicts, in particular of our tated. highest Constitutional Court,” underlined the ARD Secretary General. Moreover, independent con- Afterwards, the ARD Secretary General met the tent also requires financial independence. For Director of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) that reason, it would be important to find funding Alexander Velev. Here the current situation of models that enable this freedom – without exter- the public service broadcasting was the main nal influence. Nevertheless, she noted that most talking point. Velev explained its legal and finan- of the members of the European Broadcasting cial framework in Bulgaria. “Unfortunately, the Union are funded from their respective national public service media has suffered for many years Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. Veranstaltungsbericht Dezember 2018 2
budgets. However, this can only work well, when address that the independence of journalists and political parties with deep-rooted democratic their work are high values in a democracy: "With- principles and traditions are in the government. out this so-called fourth pillar, a true democracy Further requirements for public service broad- could not function. Therefore, it is the task of casting, in her point of view, are the credibility each authority to protect and promote this basic and trust of citizens in media. “The citizens don’t principle – especially within the European Union. only need to be convinced that the journalists can Independent public service broadcasting is an report independently, but also that they do it,” extremely important component of democracy,” Pfab said. She also referred to the strategic im- Sittig said. portance of innovation in times of recent media transformations that could better serve younger The visit of the ARD Secretary General in Sofia audiences, listeners and online users. was followed with great interest by the Bulgarian Hendrik Sittig, Head of the Media Programme media. South East Europe, pointed out in his welcome
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.
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